This crustless cheesecake recipe takes only 15 minutes to prepare. The result is the most delicious baked cheesecake you could possibly make.
This crustless cheesecake is one of my favorite cakes ever! I love cheesecakes of any kind: baked chocolate cheesecake, caramel banana cream pie, no-bake ricotta cheesecake, and so on...
I've made many cheesecakes over the years, and there was rarely one I didn't like. Actually, I don't even remember having any I didn't like. But this crustless cheesecake stands out in an ocean of cheesecakes.
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Why will you love this cheesecake without crust?
- The main reason is that this is the best-tasting, most comforting cheesecake ever! Just thinking and writing about it makes me get up and start baking it again.
- Crustless: I have nothing against a good pie or graham cracker crust. But the lack of crust, in this case, makes the cheesecake even more unique; nothing is standing between you and that perfect sweet cheesiness.
- Quick and easy: This is incredibly easy to make. I was initially talking about 15 minutes of working time, but I was being very generous with the time; if you are really quick, you could be ready in less than 10 minutes.
Recipe ingredients
Low-fat quark: Low-fat is not an attempt to make this delicious dessert less calorie-laden (that would be a vain attempt), but because that is the kind of quark commonly used for the cheesecake filling.
What is quark?
- A fresh dairy product, traditional in the cuisines of German-speaking, Scandinavian, and Slavic countries. Quark is protein-packed (ยฝ cup has 11 g of protein) and is super healthy especially the low-fat quark.
- It's cheap and common around here but may be challenging to find in other countries. However, most larger supermarkets probably sell quark nowadays; I hope you can find it because making this crustless cheesecake with quark is worth it!
- Quark is similar to Greek yogurt but less tart in taste and slightly stiffer. When it comes to consistency, strained yogurt comes closest to quark. Regarding taste, cottage cheese is a close approximation. However, quark has a slightly more robust flavor and a very smooth texture, while cottage cheese has those little balls.
- This German Cheesecake is also made with quark.
Heavy cream: Not sweetened whipping cream or other sweetened products. You will need the cream for both the cheesecake and its topping.
Creme fraiche: Traditionally, you would use smetana/Schmand for the crustless cheesecake. However, crรจme fraiche makes a good substitute if those products are unavailable.
Vanilla: One teaspoon of vanilla extract or two tablespoons of vanilla sugar. Vanilla sugar is super common where I live, and it's typical for this recipe, but vanilla extract is also excellent (See FAQ to learn how to make vanilla sugar).
Other ingredients: Large eggs, all-purpose flour, unsalted butter, granulated sugar, baking powder, and lemon juice.
How to make a crustless cheesecake?
- Preheat the oven and butter the springform.
- Batter: Mix quark, heavy cream, Smetana/creme fraiche, eggs, very soft butter, sugar, vanilla sugar or vanilla extract, flour, baking powder, and lemon juice in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer on high speed (1).
- Pour batter into the prepared springform pan (2).
- Bake: Place a piece of parchment paper loosely on top and bake the cheesecake for 1 hour without opening the oven during this time.
- Rest in the oven: After one hour, turn off the oven, but don't open it. Leave the cake in the oven for another 1 ยฝ hours.
- Cool: Remove from the oven and cool completely. Once the cake is at room temperature, run a butter knife around the edges of the cake to release it from the form more easily.
- Top: Whip the heavy cream shortly on low speed. Add vanilla and increase the mixer speed gradually. Continue beating at high speed until slightly stiff peaks form.
- Spread the cream onto the cheesecake. Sprinkle it with brown sugar just before serving (3).
Expert Tips
The most important tip: I always recommend using a digital kitchen scale to measure the ingredients. Kitchen scales are super cheap and make baking precise, thus better, easier, and cleaner (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab).
Using cups makes baking a guessing game, sometimes leading to unexpected results (mainly in a negative direction).
Butter: Make sure you take the butter out of the refrigerator a few hours before baking so it has time to become soft. Cold or semi-cold butter is not an option; the butter has to be really soft.
Avoid cracks: First, if you get cracks on this baked cheesecake, it is not as dramatic as you will top it with whipped cream anyway.
- However, unsightly cracks often happen due to sudden temperature changes during baking or cooling.
- To avoid cracks, try not to open the oven door while baking the cake.
- Also, leave the crustless cheesecake in the turned-off oven for another 1 ยฝ hours after baking. This way, the cake will be fully cooked, the oven temperature will go down slowly, and the chances of the cheesecake cracking are lowered.
Recipe FAQs
You can easily make vanilla sugar by placing some sugar in a jar and sticking an empty vanilla pod in it. However, this method will take a few days or so until the sugar is infused with the vanilla flavor.
Alternatively, place some sugar and an empty vanilla pod in the food processor and process until the sugar and vanilla are powdered.
Sure, top it with your favorite toppings. Berries or fruit (or compote) are always amazing, but caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, lemon curd, strawberry compote, or another fruit sauce would also be great.
Have a look at this amazing heart-shaped cheesecake with raspberries. It is the same recipe with a different topping. It is the same recipe for crustless cheesecake with a different topping.
What I loved most about this delicious cheesecake was its consistency. Somewhat different from the fluffier, creamy cheesecake I usually make, the slices were quite dense, almost custard-like-and I found that to be a great change from the more classic cheesecake.
It is recommendable to bake the crustless cheesecake in advance; this is the case with all cheesecakes.
Bake it one day in advance, let it cool completely, cover it tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
Only top with whipped cream (or other toppings) before serving.
The crustless cheesecake keeps well for several days in the refrigerator.
The Best Crustless Cheesecake
Equipment
- Springform 26 cm/ 10-11 inches
Ingredients
Cheesecake (Note 1):
- 500 g low-fat quark 1.1 lbs/ 2 ยฝ cups, Note 2
- 230 g heavy 1 cup, Note 3
- 230 g creme fraiche 1 cup, Note 4
- 6 eggs
- 100 g all-purpose flour 3.5 oz/ ยพ cup + 1 tablespoon
- 200 g unsalted butter very soft, 7 oz/ ยพ cup + 1 tablespoon
- 200 g granulated sugar 7 oz/ 1 cup
- 1 ยพ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 2 tablespoons vanilla sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Topping:
- 230 g heavy cream 1 cup
- 1 tablespoon icing sugar
- ยผ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar for sprinkling on top
Instructions
Cheesecake:
- Prepare: Preheat the oven to 170ยฐC/ 340ยฐF. Butter the springform.
- Mix: Place quark, heavy cream, creme fraiche, eggs, very soft butter, sugar, vanilla sugar or vanilla extract, flour, baking powder, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Mix well.
- Assemble: Pour the mixture into the prepared springform. Place a piece of baking paper loosely on top of the cheesecake.
- Bake for 1 hour without opening the oven. Turn off the oven without opening it at all, and leave the cake in the oven for another 1 ยฝ hours.
- Cool: Remove from the oven and cool completely before taking out of the springform.
Topping:
- Whip the heavy cream shortly. Add vanilla extract and icing sugar and continue beating until slightly stiff peaks form.
- Top the cheesecake with the cream and sprinkle a bit of brown sugar.
Notes
- Always use a digital kitchen scale in baking; it guarantees for best results (Amazon affiliate link).
- Pure heavy cream, not sweetened whipped cream or other sweetened products.
- Use smetana/Schmand if you can find any of them.
Kim | Low Carb Maven says
Cheesecakes make a frequent appearance at my house and many are crustless. I just love them. This recipe sounds tart and creamy and dense all at the same time. It's perfect for Easter or for any time at my house! Thanks for sharing.
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says
Ooh goodness, this sounds absolutely heavenly Adina! I love cheesecake and I can imagine that the crustless version makes a lovely change. Definitely one to try out.
Angela x
Denise Browning says
How delicious, Adina! My little one loooves cheesecake although she cares nothing for the crust. This would be a great recipe for her!
rosita vargas says
El corte del pastel es perfecto,es un carnaval de sheesecake muy deliciosos,abrazos.
Laura Dembowski says
I love the idea of a crustless cheesecake. The cracks on top are always fine with me - they mean it was made with love <3
grace says
what a magnificently dense cheesecake! i would relish every bite of this beauty!
Valentina | The Baking Fairy says
This crustless cheesecake looks so easy and delicious! I cannot say I've ever seen Quark in stores around here, but the concept is fantastic. I'm sure it could be adapted with ingredients I have! ๐
Sissi says
This is my favourite kind of cheesecake: crustless and made with tangy cheese not the American cream cheese. And the easiest, as you say!
Marvellina says
I was happy to see some quark at the store the other day. This cheese cake looks REALLY good!! definitely pinning!
Kathy@beyond the chicken coop says
I love the idea of a crustless cheesecake! This looks heavenly! Hope your Easter was wonderful!
allie says
Hi Adina - this is a beautiful cheesecake for Easter. I liked hearing your methods for not creasing the cheesecake on top. I usually bake mine in a hot water bath and that does the trick too. Always glad to learn new things here. I often make an Italian Ricotta Pie for Easter, but I didn't this year. In fact, my my sister-in-law kindly brought dessert so I didn't do any real baking, just cooking. Well I hope to try this beautiful cheesecake sometime soon. If I do, I will definitely add your whipped cream topping. I too like to wait a day to eat cheesecake, I think the flavor and texture develop over a day or so. Hope you had a great holiday! XO
Beth says
This sounds delicious! And I never worry too much about cracks - as long as I can disguise them with fruit or a little whipping cream, nobody needs to know!
KR says
I love quark cakes ๐ thank you for one more recipe ๐ And Happy Easter !
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
Heavenly! I haven't baked or had a cheesecake in a while...now I wish I could have a small slice for the dessert :-))